Uchiha Clan Training Grounds
"Hiii... Sasuke," Sakura sat up, dark circles under her eyes, and ran a hand through her messy hair. "Morning. I saw this place was a bit of a mess, so I helped you trim it up a bit. No need to thank me."
"Ah... also, if you ever want a rematch, just let me know..." Sakura shook her small fist at Sasuke again, then turned and, with a light head, walked down the hill without looking back.
Sasuke watched Sakura's retreating figure, his expression filled with a mixture of frustration and indignation. So, being strong means you can do whatever you want, huh?
Ignoring Sasuke's thoughts, Sakura dragged her exhausted body back home. As expected, she got another scolding from her mother.
Sakura couldn't help it; ever since she'd beaten Sasuke up, her sleep schedule had been completely messed up.
After breakfast, Karin left for her sealing jutsu class. Sakura was just about to go back to bed for a nap when she heard Naruto's voice from downstairs.
"Hey, Sakura-chan...!"
Sakura sighed in resignation and went to the balcony. Naruto was standing below her house, carrying a backpack.
"Sakura-chan, Pervy Sage told me to come get you. He said you'd know what it's about."
Well, so much for sleep. It seemed Jiraiya was finally starting the mission to find Tsunade.
This wasn't a mission she had to go on, but the Third Hokage had suggested it as a way for her to be promoted to chunin. It would look good on her ninja record.
After all, it involved searching for a ninja of kage-level strength, requiring intelligence gathering, analysis of various unexpected situations, and so on. Normally, this kind of mission would require a chunin or above, so it was perfectly reasonable to use it to evaluate Sakura, whose skills were already up to par. It was just that this time, the Third Hokage was pulling some strings.
"I'll be right down, wait for me," Sakura called down to Naruto, then turned and went inside to pack.
This trip would likely take a while. Sakura first took a shower to wake herself up. Then, she went to her bedroom and pulled out the backpack she'd used on her three-year training journey. She packed a few changes of clothes and underwear, said goodbye to her mother, and went downstairs, yawning.
"Huh? Sakura-chan, didn't you sleep well last night?" Naruto asked, noticing the dark circles under her eyes.
"Yeah, I didn't sleep at all last night, yawn..." Sakura replied listlessly, still yawning.
"Seriously, I don't know what mission Pervy Sage has that's so important he has to get us up this early," Naruto immediately complained on Sakura's behalf.
Sakura followed Naruto all the way to the Konoha village gate, where Jiraiya was already waiting.
"Sakura, did you not sleep well?" Jiraiya asked, seeing her constantly yawning.
"Yeah, I was training all night..." Sakura replied.
"Didn't I tell Naruto yesterday to inform you that we were leaving today? Why were you still training all night?" Jiraiya asked, a little curious.
"Huh...? No, he didn't," Sakura was taken aback.
"Oh, that, Pervy Sage... I think I forgot..." Naruto suddenly remembered, looking embarrassed.
"Naruto..." Sakura called his name with a smile.
"Haha... Sakura-chan... I... I didn't forget on purpose... um... Anyway, I just forgot..." Seeing the smile on Sakura's face, Naruto's heart skipped a beat. Remembering Sasuke's miserable state the other day, he felt like he wouldn't be spared today.
"Um... Sakura-chan, go easy on me..." Naruto closed his eyes, looking like he was bravely facing his execution, waiting for the fist to fall.
"Go easy on you for what...?" Sakura looked at Naruto, puzzled. She'd just been thinking about how to get Naruto to carry her on the way so she could sleep. Talk about perfect timing; Jiraiya had practically handed her a pillow! Without realizing it, she'd given Naruto a smile.
"You... you're not going to hit me...?" Naruto opened his eyes and asked.
"Why would I hit you? If I hurt you, who's going to carry me on the way?" Sakura said matter-of-factly. "You're going to carry me for the whole trip so I can get some sleep."
"Phew~~~ No problem... Leave it to me!" Hearing that Sakura wasn't going to hit him, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and readily agreed.
Naruto turned around, and Sakura jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. Then, she closed her eyes and promptly fell asleep.
Sakura was truly exhausted. She'd been intensely focused all night, and her chakra reserves were completely depleted. If Naruto hadn't said Jiraiya was ready to leave, Sakura wouldn't have been able to hold on this long. Now, resting on Naruto's back, she instantly drifted off to dreamland.
Sakura fell asleep easily, but Naruto's mind was not at peace. Having just showered, the faint, sweet scent of the young girl, and the feeling of a body clearly different from his own against his back, made Naruto blush awkwardly.
However, Naruto hadn't really "awakened" yet. Although he'd seen naked women before, that was for practicing his Sexy Jutsu. This was the first time he'd had such close contact with a girl. Looking at the pale, slender hands hanging in front of him, Naruto couldn't help but swallow hard. It was the gulp of fear. A pair of hands so seemingly delicate could beat Sasuke half to death. Naruto swore he'd never anger Sakura again.
Although Naruto hadn't fully matured, he was in a state of dawning awareness about these things. So, while his face was flushed with embarrassment, he didn't have any particular thoughts.
Jiraiya saw Naruto's awkward expression and sidled up to him, grinning mischievously. "Hehe, you little rascal, you're pretty capable. You're even better than me."
Naruto, shivering at the Pervy Sage's lecherous grin, asked, "What do you mean, Pervy Sage?"
Seeing Naruto's clueless expression, Jiraiya lamented inwardly. This kid was nothing like his father! When Minato was still in the Ninja Academy, he was already chasing girls. Jiraiya himself understood everything when he was Naruto's age. This kid was truly blessed but didn't realize it.
"Nothing... Let's talk about the mission," Jiraiya said, changing the subject, having lost interest.
"Pervy Sage, what's the mission this time?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Simply put, the mission is to find Sakura's teacher," Jiraiya said, "and bring her back to the village."
"Huh? Then why did you bring me along...?" Hearing that the mission was to find someone, Naruto's enthusiasm waned. He'd been idle for days, so he'd been excited when he heard there was a mission. But finding someone seemed boring.
"Actually, this mission won't be short. You'd just be bored staying in the village, so I thought I'd bring you along and teach you a ninjutsu," Jiraiya explained.
Actually, even without Sakura asking, Jiraiya had already decided to bring Naruto along and train him during the mission. Otherwise, no matter how highly the Third Hokage regarded Sakura, he wouldn't have allowed the jinchuriki to leave the village when Konoha was still recovering from the invasion.
That's why, when Sakura brought it up, the Third Hokage agreed without a second thought.
"Really~~~? Which one? Which one? What ninjutsu is it?" Naruto asked excitedly. He hadn't made much progress training on his own and was frustrated by it. Hearing that he could learn a new ninjutsu immediately thrilled him.
"Don't be so hasty. This trip might take a while. We'll find a place to settle down first, and then I'll teach you," Jiraiya told Naruto.
"Oh~~~ Alright! What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Naruto's eyes blazed with fiery enthusiasm as he looked at Jiraiya.
"That young lady over there, come out..." Jiraiya suddenly said, addressing the inside of the Konoha gate.
A young girl with Byakugan eyes emerged; it was Hinata.
"Huh? Hinata..." Naruto was surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?"
"Um... I heard... from Kiba... that Naruto-kun was going on a mission today... so... so..." Hinata's fingers fidgeted, touching each other repeatedly. Then, she pulled a box of ointment from her pocket. "Please... please take this..."
Naruto had been sparring with Kiba yesterday and had forgotten to inform Sakura. After losing to Naruto, Kiba had been constantly challenging him to spar, hoping to find a way to defeat him. But the current Naruto wasn't winning by luck; he was winning through genuine skill.
"Huh? This again... Hehe, your ointment is pretty good. I haven't even finished the last one you gave me..." Naruto said, looking at the box, which was identical to the previous one, completely missing the point.
Hinata's face turned even redder. "Is... is that so..." Naruto's words sounded like a rejection.
Seeing Hinata's deeply flushed face, Naruto suddenly remembered what Sakura had told him about Hinata during the Chunin Exam preliminaries. He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Haha, okay, I'll take it. I'm almost out of the last one anyway."
After accepting the ointment, Naruto said, "Thank you for the ointment, Hinata. I'll be going now."
He turned to Jiraiya and urged, "Pervy Sage, let's go!" Then, he dashed off with Sakura on his back.
Jiraiya stared blankly at Naruto, completely dumbfounded. He couldn't quite describe what he was feeling. In some ways, Naruto had completely surpassed him, his own teacher.
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